‘The Oligarchy Is Thrilled’: Trump Removes NLRB General Counsel and Democratic Board Member
In a radical shake-up of the federal agency tasked with protecting the right of private sector employees to organize, U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday fired two key leaders at the National Labor Relations Board.
Trump ousted NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and—in a less expected and legally dubious move—also removed Democratic NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox.
Wilcox's position is protected by federal law which states that board members can only be fired for neglect or malfeasance, per Bloomberg.
The firm SpaceX, which was founded by Elon Musk, has challenged the protections shielding NLRB members from being removed, arguing they are unconstitutional. Other companies, such as Trader Joe's and Amazon, have also challenged the constitutionality of the agency. Washington Post reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley remarked that Wilcox's "unprecedented" firing "could bring cases filed by SpaceX, Amazon challenging NLRB constitutionality" to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Abruzzo was generally considered one of the most union-friendly figures to serve as general counsel in recent decades.
After being tapped as the board's lead prosecutor by then-President Biden in 2021, Abruzzo prosecuted complaints against companies like Starbucks, Amazon and Tesla, and under her leadership the board adopted a more worker-friendly framework for determining when companies must bargain with unions without an election.
Whoever takes over as NLRB general counsel, which during Trump's first term was former management-side labor lawyer Peter Robb, will have discretion over which sorts of cases the agency prosecutes.
Abruzzo's tenure was due to last until July, though her firing by Trump was widely expected. She did not, however, preemptively leave her post, which drew praise from one observer.
"Not unexpected, but I'm glad that Abruzzo didn't roll over but instead forced Trump, the supposed champion of working people, to fire the most pro-union government official since Frances Perkins. Let him own it," wrote reporter Jordan Zakarin on X.
Basel Musharbash, an antitrust and trade regulation lawyer, compared Abruzzo to the leaders of the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Biden.
"Jennifer Abruzzo was in the same league as Lina Khan, Jonathan Kanter, and Rohit Chopra—dusting off labor laws that have been sitting on the shelf for decades to protect and empower workers," Musharbash said. "Trump shouldn't have fired her—he should've reappointed her."
Wilcox's dismissal was less expected, especially given that there were enough vacant seats on the board to allow Trump to nominate a Republican majority, according to Bloomberg. The board is now withouta quorum and can no longer issue decisions.
Wilcox was appointed to the NLRB in 2021 and was reconfirmed by the Senate for a second term in 2023. That term was slated to last through 2028. She is also a previous chair of the board.
"As the first Black woman board member, I brought a unique perspective that I believe will be lost upon my unprecedented and illegal removal," Wilcox said in a statement to Bloomberg. "I will be pursuing all legal avenues to challenge my removal, which violates long-standing Supreme Court precedent."
One organizer in Brooklyn remarked, "The oligarchy is thrilled with this move."
Jeff Hauser, head of Revolving Door Project on X, wrote on X that "this is 100% different than Abruzzo. Trump firing Abruzzo is substantively evil, but he is the president of, by, and for the bosses and has that power. Firing Wilcox is a constitutional crisis!"
Eloise Goldsmith is a staff writer for Common Dreams.